Shoe-sewing machine.



A. B. FOWLER. SHOE SEWING MACHINE.

APPLICATION rum) urns, 1902.

Patented NOV. 22,1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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v a. P3 I Wih12ssE5 H I y T X/15 1 101- (I A. B. FOWLER. SHOE snwmq MACHINE. APPLIQATION F-iLEiD JAN. 13, 1902.

Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

,A. B. FOWLER. SHOE SEWING MACHINE- APPLICATION rum) JAN.13, 1902.

976,450. Patentd Nov. 22, 1910.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3. I

v 1 fiw Z W T I i A. B. FOWLER.

' SHOE SEWING MACHINE. APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 13, 1902.

Patented N0v. 22, 1910.

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A. B. FOWLER. SHOE SEWING MACHINE. APPLICATION rmm JAN.13, 1902.

Patented Nov. 22,

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UNITED sTA'TEs PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED B. FOWLER, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY COMPANY, OF PATEESON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

SHOE-SEWING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Nov. 22, 1910.

Application filed January 13, 1902. Serial No. 89,585.

T 0 all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that: I ALFRED B. FOWLER, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulimprovements in Shoe-Sewing Machines; and'I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to an lll-lprovement in shoe sewing machines and more particularly to-shoe'sewing machines of the hook needle wax thread, chain stitch type- The object of my invention is to reorganize and improve sewing machines of the above type and to the above end the present invention consists in the devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and claimed. V

In the accompanying drawings illustrating-the preferred form of my invention Figurc'l is a front elevation of a sewing machine embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a side elevation looking toward the right hand end of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking toward the left hand end of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail view hereinafter referred to, and Figs. 5, (3, 7, 8 and 9 are diagraimnatic illustrations of the thread handling devices shown in different positions which they assume during the opera tion of making, a stitch.

I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a sewing machine of the Lincoln type in which the needle N is of the usual curved hook type supported in the usual needle segment and actuated in the usual way from a cam on the main shaft S of the machine. The looper L is of the rotary type, being mounted upon a hollow cylinder through which the thread passes and being actuated by a rack and pinion from a cam on the main shaft S in the usual manner. The back gage G and back rest R are mounted on the usual slides and operate in the usual manner. -The channel guide C is mounted upon a pivot on the feed slide F and actuated in the usual manner'by levers from cams mounted on the main shaft S.

In sewing machines in which the looper is of the rotary type and which is therefore movement and a return movement to bring it back to its original position after having looped thethread in the hook of the needle, it has been 'found'ditiicult to arrange and operate the feed point in such manner as to give it its proper movements to feed the.

work and to return to its-original position without interfering with the motions of the looper, and according to the present invention the feed point A after having engaged the work and fed the same, preferably bringing the feed point into the plane of the needle, is withdrawn from the work on a diagonal line so that it is carnied out of the plane of the needle, by virtue of which the retracting stroke of the feed point need not necessarily be as long as it would otherwise require to be, and at the same time carried beyond the path' of motion of the looper so that it will not interfere'with the looping or returning movements thereof. i

In the illustrated embodiment of my invention I have shown the feed point A fixedly secured to the feed point arm 1 mounted upon and secured to the rock shaft 2, in turn revolubly and slidingly mounted in a bearing 3 on the feed slide F. Upon the opposite end ofthe rock shaft 2 is secured a cam 4 and segmental pinion 5 which in the illustrated embodiment are integral. The cam, for which see in particular Fig. 4:, is provided with a diagonal groove 'which is engaged by a roll (3 mounted upon a.stud 7 secured to an adjustable support 8 provided with the adjusting slot 9 through which the cap bolt 10 passes, being screwed into a projection from the feedslide. The segmental. pinion 4 is engaged by a segmental gear 11 pivoted upon a stationary part of the'machine and to which is secured the arm 12 carrying a cam roll which enters the p can] path 13 in the cam disk D mounted upon and secured to the main shaft S of the machine. The above desctibed arrangement and the shape of the cam path 13 are such that when the segmental gear 11 is held stationary by a dwell in the cam path 13 the reciprocations of the feed slide F will impart identical reciprocations to the chan nel guide C and-feed point A, the feed slide- F and the feed point A being connected together by means of the cum 4 and roll 6. The cam path 13 is so constructed with re-. lation to the feed cam for operating the feed slide that it will first cause the segmental gear 11 to be rotated'in the direction to cause the feed point A to engage the material along side of the channel guide.

The dwell will then occur in the cam reetion to feed the work, whereupon the segmental gearll. will be actuated by the cam path 13 to withdraw the feed point A from engagement with the work, the oscillation of the cam 4 at this time causing the'rock shaft 2 to slide toward the right as viewed in Fig. 1 so that the motion of the feed point is upon a diagonal line which is the resultant of the two motions of sliding and rocking given to the rock. shaft 2 by the cam 4 and segmental gear 11. By this means the feed point A is withdrawn from engagement with the work on a diagonal line out of the plane of the needle and beyond the path of motion of the looper. It is to be noted that the movement of the feed point A toward the work is also upon a diagonal line, because the oscillation of the rock' shaft 2 to cause the feed point to engage the work necessarily causes it to be acted upon by the cam 4 so as to slide forward in the direction of the feed at the same time.

The-above described feature of my invention by virtue ofwhich-the feeglpoint is withdrawn from the Work on a diagonal lineout of the plane of the needle and beyond the path of motion of the looper is not claimed herein as it is claimed in an application divided out of thiscase and filed April 8, 1909, Serial No. 488,597.

The tension indicated in a general way by the reference letter T may be an ordinary tension wheel for applying a resistance to the pulling off of thread from the supply and in its broader aspects my invention is not limited to any particular form of tensionmechanism. I prefer, however, to .employ a. tension device for applying the re- 'sistance to the pulling off ofthreadfrom the supply provided with means for positively operating the tension wheel to cause it to pay off thread at the desired time. In the illustrated embodiment of my invention, the tension wheel lat is rotatably mounted in bearings projected from the rear of the frame of the machine and any convenient devices are ,employed for exerting thereon a'resistanceto rotation such as the ordinaryfIlCtIOII dISkS, spring, and ad ustmg screw.

Along side of the. tension wheel and secured to it is mounted a ratchet Wheel 15; The pawl lever 16, loosely pivoted upon the tension Wheel shaft 17, is provided with three pawls 18'having staggered tooth engaging faces, each pawl being pressed into engagement with the ratchet wheelb means of a spring 19 secured to the paw lever. The

pawl lever is actuated by a connecting rod 20 pivoted to the lower end of the pawl lever and adjustably pivoted at its opposite end to the cam levcr2l pivoted at 22 upon a stationary part of the machine, its opposite end being provided with'a roll which ongages a cam path 23 in the cam disk D. The lever 21. is provided at its rear end with a slot 24 so that the connecting rod 20 may be secured in any desired position in said slot so as to vary the amplltude of oscillation of the pawl lever ind thereby vary the amount of thread paid off by the tension wheel during each rotation of the main shaft S of the machine. The lead of the thread in the machine of the drawings extends up from the wax pot (not shown) around the trucks 2:? and 26' and thence through the looper to the needle.

According to my invention there is provided between the. tension wheel and the work .a thread engaging device which engages the thread and which is actuated by a cam-controlled spring during the formation of each stitch, to exert upon said thread a yielding strain which is uninterrupted during the time the stitch is being set. It is immaterial to my invention where this thread engaging device is located or in exactly whatconstruction it is embodied, it being only necessary that during the time the stitch is being set it shall be caused by a cam and spring to-exert an uninterrupted yielding strain upon'the thread. The illustrated embodiment of the thread engaging device consists of a thread truck E rotatably mounted upon the end of a lever 27 conveniently pivoted upon the pivot for the thread guiding truck 25, said thread engaging device engaging the thread between the two thread guiding trucks 25 and 26 so as to deflect the course of the thread from a straight line between said trucks. A spring 28 15 provided which is connected at one end to the lever. 27 and at the other end to a cam lever 2.) which is pivoted upon a stationary part of t-he-machlne as at 30 and carries, upon its opposite end a cam roll 31 which engages aperipheral cam 33 on the cam disk H secured to the main shaft-S of the machine. A spring 32 is employed to hold the cam roll 31 in engagement with its cam 33. The form of the cam 33 and the operation of this tea ture of my invention can most conveniently be described in connection with a description of the operation of the illustrated embodiment of my invention.

The operation of the stitch forming devices of-the machine of the drawingsis as follows :-Assinning the parts-to occupy the positions illustrated in Fig.5 (and Fig. 3) the needle will be forward and the looper will have laid the thread in the hook of the needle, the'thread engaging device will octhe thread engaging device E, the roll 31 engaging a low portion of thecam surface 3:2. The parts will then pass from the positions illustrated in said figure to the positions illustrated in Fig. 6.- The tension wheel will have been acted upon by the pay oft devices to pay off thread, the spring 28 will have contracted somewhat and lowered the thread engaging device E and the needle will have retracted until its hook is ,just emerging from the materials. During the time these motions were taking. place the roll ill will still remain in engagement with the low part of the cam 33 and then be about to be raised by the higher portion of said cam.

The parts then pass from the positions illustrated in Fig. (3 to the positions illustrated in Fig. 7 in which the needle will have completely emei aged from the materials. the roll 31 will hue risen to the high part of the cam 33 and the sprin 28 will be exertin its full strain upon the thread by reason of the oscillation of the lever 29 under the influence of the cam at this time they will have returned part way. 1 During the time the needle is completing its retracting stroke the roll 31'will have remained upon the high part of'the cam 33 and the stitch will be set, the thread engaging device E being lifted by the pull of the thread thereon against the uninterrupted yielding strain exerted by the spring 28 in resistance to such lifting strain eXerted by the thread. At this time the pawl lever is shown as having returned to its original position and the parts will have-assumed the positions illustrated in Fig. 8. The stitch will have been set'against an uninterrupted yielding strain exerted on the thread by the cam-controlled spring acting upon the thread engaging device.

It is immaterial to my invention whether the normal tension exerted upon the thread by the tension wheel is sufiicient to hold the thread from being drawn from the supply against any strain exerted thereon by the needle or other stitch setting instrumentality,

although I prefer to adjust such tension to such an amount that if there. is a slight deficiency in the length of the thread between the work and 'the tension, the tension wheel will be permitted to rotate to give up to the needle, or other stitch setting instrumentality, the amount of thread demanded. It is. however, withln the purview of my' invention that the tension wheel should exert so great a resistance to the pullingbfi of thread from the supply as to prohibit such action, in which the variation betweenthe amount of thread paid off by the ten sion wheel and the amount of thread corisumed in the formation of each stitch will It is inn'naterial when the pawls return to their original position, but

. the thread.

l ier ae be taken care of by the spring 28. Inthe sewing of a shoe there are ordinarily required from sixty to seventy stitches and the pay off will be adjusted; as near as possible to the amount of thread which will be con sinned in sewing that number of stitches.

Any variation which may occur between the amount of thread pald off and that consumed' will preferably lie in thedirection of a deficiency of thread (although it might be an excess of thread) so that during the sewing of the last portion of the shoe, the

thread engaging device will be lifted by the extra tension on the thread to a higher point durin the formation of each stitch than during the sewing of the earlier portlons of the shoe. The spring 28 is preferably long.

so that a variation in its length which would compensate for a variation in the length of thread, would not vary its elastic pressure upon the thread enough to cause the machine to work imperfectly. The parts then pass fromthe positions illustrated in Fig. 8 to the positions illustrated in Fig.') during which the roll 3l-drops off the high part of the cam 33 on to the low part of the same, relaxes the tension on-the spring 2-8 and-permits the elasticity of the thread slightly to raise the thread engaging deviceE .into'the position shown. During this time the needle will have advanced (after the feed has taken.

thread finger and take-up be employed or not, although I prefer and have ,shown the invention as embodied in a machine without a thread finger or take-up, my invention is by no means limited thereto but is susceptible of embodimentin a machine provided with such instrumenta'lities. In such case the thread engaging device would be caused to exert its uninterrupted yielding strain upon the thread during the time the takeup was acting to set the stitch.

Wherever in the "claims I have-employed the words cam-controlled spring I intend thereby to define a spring which is caused to exert substantial pressure upon the thread by means of a 'cam which acts upon said spring as distinguished from a reactive spring which only exerts upon the thread the energy which has been stored in it by Having. thus described my invention I claim as new a 'd desire to secure by Letters Patent of the lnited Statesn 1. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, combination, a curved hook needle, a looper, a tension Wheel, a thread engaging device engaging the thread between the tension wheel and the Work, and

a cam-controlled spring acting on the thread engaging device to exert an uninterrupted yielding strain on the thread while the stitch is being set, substantially as described.

2, A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a ,curvedhook needle, a looper, a tension wheel, a thread engaging'device engaging the thread between the tension Wheel and the work, anda cam-controlled springacting on the thread engaging device to exert an uninterrupted yielding strain on the thread during the latter part of theretracting stroke of the needle, substantially as described.

3. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine,

having,- in combination, a curved hook 4. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, acurved hook needle, a looper, a tension-Wheel, a cam for actuating the tension-Wheel to positively pay off thread, a thread truck engagin the thread between the tension-Wheel an the work, a spring connected with the thread truck, and a cam acting on the spring during the setting of the stitch to cause the thread truck to exert a yielding strain on the thread, substantially as described.

5. A chain stitch shoe sewing machine, having, in combination, a curved hook needle, a looper, a tension-wheel, a cam for actuating the tension-Wheel to positively pay off thread, and a cam-controlled spring acting on the thread bet-ween the tension-wheel and the work to exert an uninterrupted ielding strain on the thread during the atter portion of the retracting stroke of the /needle, substantially as described.

In testimon whereof I aflix my signature, in presence 0 two witnesses.

ALFRED B. FOWLER.

Witnesses: HORACE VAN EvEnnN, FRED O. FISH. 

